Using Outlook 2003 to read Lotus Notes Email

I suspect this post has a very small audience, although I suspect that goes for the blog as a whole. Anyway, what follows is a step by step instruction for using Outlook 2003 to read your Lotus Notes email.

Assumptions

This has been tested and works for Windows XP, Lotus Notes 6.5.4 (although the MS bridge should work for Release 5 and up), using Outlook 2003.

Download the Microsoft Conntector

It’s available for free from Microsoft. It states it works for Outlook 2002 and 2003, for use with Notes release 5 or 6.

Uninstall Microsoft hotfixes

It seems that Outlook 2003 security fix KB892843 stops the connector from installing properly. Unless you remove it, you’ll get the error @”Unable to open your default e-mail folders. The server is not available.
Contact your administrator if this condition persists@. This hotfix is also included in some roll-up fixes, so I suggest you remove any and all Outlook related hotfixes. These hotfixes only affect the installation of the connector, so you can re-run Windows Update afterwards.

You can remove hotfixes from the Add/Remove program dialog – just make sure you have the Show Updates checkbox ticked. The Outlook hotfixes will be listed under Microsoft Office.

Install the connector

Shut down both Notes and Outlook. Double click the connector and follow the on screen instructions

Set up Outlook to read your notes email

Start Outlook up. Select E-Mail Accounts... from the Tools menu. Select Add a new email account, click next, and select Additional Server Types and click next again. Depending on your configuration, you’ll be presented with several server type options. We want Microsoft Offie Outlook Connector for IBM Lotus Notes Domino. Click next. You’ll now be prompted to exit Outlook before the new account will be active.

Outlook should pick up your notes file automatically.

Re-install the Oulook Hotfixes

As you wouldn’t want to forget that, would you :-)

Anyway, that should be it. You’ll now have a slightly more usable way of accessing and sending you email, as well as working with calendars and your todo list. Note that you’ll be unable to read all notes email – those sent with high encruption levels (the ones you can’t send to non-notes email accounts and that can’t be forwared) will not show up, but you should get told that they can’t be transfered by the connector.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 4th, 2006 at 10:34 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.